Acetylene-gas generator.



D. F. GUGER.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION msn :uw xo. |916.

1264057 Pnd Apr. 23,1918.

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D. F. GEIGER.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPUCAUUN NLED JULY 10.1915.

1,264,057. Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

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DAVID IF. GEIGER, 0F SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA.

AGETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

Application filed July 10, 1916. Serial No. 108,259.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, DAvn) F. Gerona, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saskatoon, in the Province of Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification.-

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in acetylene generators, wherein simplicity in design is combined with a high degree of efficiency to produce a gas generator in which the gas producing agent, such as calcium carbid, is fed Iautomatically into a body of water to liber ate gas and to maintain the same under a constant and even pressures() as to avoid sputtering and fluctuation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this type whereby danger of explosion caused by a Hash-back is reduced to a minimum.

A further object is the provision of improved means for feeding the carbid into the water; of such means for regulating the pressure of gas; for controlling the constant and even pressure of gas durin the recharging of the apparatus with car id; and for removing the residue from the bottom of the generator.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, partly broken away, of my improved device; Fig. 2 is a section of a detail of the lower portion of the tank; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line X-X of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a side view partly broken away and in section of the water wheel Irotor; and Fig. 5 is a partial detail of the peripheral construction of Such wheel motor.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring .to the drawin A `represents a pressure tank of any suitable configuration and material, though preferably, as shown, cylindrical in shape and of metal to best accomplish the objects for which it is designed, the tank being provided at its lower extremity with legs 'or standards 10 so as to space it above the round or other support upon which it may e set up).

Secured in any desired manner-ainv outfthe inner periphery of the upper open end of the tank, is a cone-shaped hopper 11 adapted to be filled through a suitable plug 12 threaded into a centrally disposed aperture 13 formed in a closure member lil-fastened by bolts 15, or other means, over the open end of the tank and to the edges thereof as shown. A plurality of rods 16, having threaded engagement with the hopper, extend downwardly therefrom and support at their lower ends a plate 17, from which depends an auxiliary pressure tank B, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear, a boss Or protuberance 18 integrally attached to the tank B extending through the central point of the plate and affording means for securing the tank thereto.

A suitable distance below the frustum or delivery end of the hopper 11 is a receivin and feeding disk 19 mounted upon a, beve gear 20, the gear being provided with a step bearing 22 formed in the adjacent portion of the protuberance 18.

A' bracket 24 is secured at one end about the boss 18 upon the plate 17, as by means of a nut 25, and has its other end bifurcated to form a journal bearing 26 for a shaft 27 carrying at its inner end a bevel pinion 28 engaging the gear 20 and extending outwardly through a suitable stutiing box 29 mounted on the wall of the tank A, a notched hand wheel 30 being Secured to the free end of the shaft as shown in Fig. 1. Keyed or otherwise secured upon this shaft intermen diate the bushing and journal is a pocketed wheel motor C, the particular description and objects of which will subsequently appear.

Tapped into a wall of the tank A is a water channel 31 having a shut off valve 32 and a check valve 33 therein and terminating at its outer end in a T-coupling 34 to the upper end of which is connected a joint 35 through the medium of a short threaded pipe 36, said joint being enlarged and interiorly Vthreaded to receive the exteriorly threaded reducedv end 37 of the lower section 38 of a two-piecehousing D, a diaphragm plate 39 being'secured between said lower section and the upper section 40 of said housing and having the free end of a depending valve stem 41 4secured centrally thereof, the lower end of thestem carrying a valve 42 adapted to open and close a valve seat 43fformed in the adjacent extremity of Said reduced end 37. -As shownin VA1, z,

the upper section 40 of the housing is also provided with a reduced portion 44, which 1s interiorly threaded to receive a suitable stein 45, the lower portion of which is hallowed out to accommodate a helidl spring 46, which as will be understood bears against lthestem'at 'one end and at the other against the adjacent, face of the diaphragm. By turning the stein one way or the other, the tension-of'thewspring is inereasedor decreased as theease may be lwith a corre spondi-ng effecten the diaphragm so that moreor Aless pressure vvillbe required to eeettheseati'ng of the valve 42.

f Communicating v`withv the -interiorffo the 'fredueedvportion 37 ofy the housing fis a pipe t'iha'ving a 4cheek valve 48 and a shut-dil valve` 49 and which extends `horizonteily through the YWall-f thei tank A5 "thence 11p* Wardly in the are of a circle,and terminatesrin an open end diieotlyabove the Wheel motor C into the ockets of Which it is designed to deliver or the purposelof driving the; same and its attached parts for feeding carbid into-the Water.

Extending downwardly!` from theV lower end of'fthe'Tfeoupli-ng 34:, tofwhich it is connected, is a. pipe=50-huving a shut-oft valve .51 lopening into oneof the branches Ofa three-Wayeoupliing 52,; another 'of said branches bein reonneoted *with a draineoek 53, and the third branchabeingconneeted to am end offa horizontal pipe' 54 extending 4through-the` Wall of the tank and a suitable bushing 55% secured thereto. vThe other `end of thepipe 54-communicates with theinterior of the auxiliary pressuretank' B at or adjacent the bottom thereof'as shown.

`Secured about the outer wall oft the main pressure tankA, as'by means of a band 56, is a comparatively small chamber or vessel E having in: its upper portion a` lling funnel 57 provided with a valve 58. The vessel' isalso provided-with a suitable faucet 59 for regulating the level `of theliquid, suchl as ruiter,y Within thej vessel.

A pipe 60 having a valve 61 is connected at one extremity to the Wall oftheJtanlA adjacent its. upper .end `irorn whence 'it passes through the` upper-portion of the vesseLE and1 terminatessfat its other open extremity atl point slightly spacedrwbove; the1 bottom of the vessel. @A short 'service outlet pipe-62 entends from the upper pionf'of the lvesselfy and* prermiitsaelie-v attaohmentnbhlereto: fof a exible er other tubing! (notrshownlzleasding tore vtoneh or totchfesforl other desired; point.

f hrfFig's. /l'anlf warershown detailsfwons'tructoniof bherwheel motori` (3.? Thisvmlof tor eorhprlises a 4hub `6331tlireu'ghrfwhielrfthe slifft 27) psesmnd" Erom *whfiehr spokesn radiuteatonairim F- onneduofifa paeirrpof inner periphery of the ilanges heilig arranged in spaced airs, eachbolt of a pair being distancd Sliglitly'froin the other; While those, G7, adjacent the outer periph ery of the rings are individually spaced therezvlbout in tho manner shown in Fi l. A long metal plate, as of copper, 68, 'W ich His of`A suiioient Width to completely span the space between the rings 65, is entwined about the bolts't andf? las illustrated in the figure lastmentioned to= form a series ofwpockets 69-extending entirely around the Wheel, it #of course being understood that the meeting ends of the :plate are secured together in any desiredwaend thatwheu motive power is brought to bear'lupon the Wheel, it travels in the direction ot' he arrow (-seeFig. 4).

LA substantially U-shape member having alrigid arm FO and a pivotedarm 71 is securedabout `one Yof the rods 1G by means of a split clamp 72. The nigid arm is provided 'vvith :t threaded yaperture throuoh which an adjusting rod 73. threaded at al, works, `one end of the rod passing through the `wall of the tank and'` a bushing; 7 5 (see Fig. 3) and the otherI end abutting the ad- 'faoent-faceof thev ivotedarm 7l. A sprinfr 6 is secured to t e respectivesfree ends o? the larmswOvand V7l and tends to hold'the latter arm in Contact With-the endl of the red T3. 'A boss 88 formed on=the-arm 7l ailiords means? for securing thereto one eX- tremity of'a finger. 78 attaehedwat its other extremity toan inclined fscraper blade or plow T9, `theilower edt-gey of i whichl yovfellies the receiving surface of the disk 19 in close proximity theretoyso that during the rotation of the disk, material as carbidfde posited thereon will be scrapedY fromthe disk by the blade and 'fall into a body of Water inthe tank tA. `By'ft-urningthe `rod 7 3, it Will be seen that the angnlaty of the blade 79 may be adjusted-actress the `face of: the diskefor' the purpose of depositing more ori less earbifdf iinto Y they Water.

@A yfunnel 8O` havin la shut-olfvalve `81 permits thelling. of :t 5e itanklA :with IWater to thexdesiredl-leviel, a suitable "-faucet 82` placed in they Wall of thewtanki governing the height-,of su'c'li level. The hopper-1L is then lled l withrenrbidvwhich feeds Jthronrgh the lower delivery end thereof ontothe-di'sk 19. 'Ilheohend '.rwihel 80 q-sfnezxti tamed, whiom es will be funtlersteod troni ithe forregoin ndescri'ption;imparts1` rota vunotionto theA4 islev and some off: the carbi Itherearm is scraped: :thefedrom shy? ith .':bladev 1nand deliveredninto ,the Water resultingvirr fthe-generation ofxflgaswvhioh l. lillsa the upper.= :portion ofi the tan `,alpreure :gage 8e2 aloming mearsr for fdetenmnih lithe pressurefofsgas at-vall minies'rfwitlm vveltank. ;f1lhe'ival ves 32, 51 and: wearethenie `enddfaudztheswater lidemrpzswesstm-eslmthelnuxihury tank B compressing the air therein until the pressure, say for example 17 pounds, is equalized in both tanks. The manual turnin of the wheel 30 may be stopped and the va ve G1 opened so that the as in the upper portion of tank A liows through pipe 60 into the lower portion of the vessel E, filtering through a body of Water previously placed in the vessel and passes out through the pipe (32 and a tubing attached thereto to a suitable source.

As soon as the pressure in tank A falls below that in tank B, the water in the latter tank is forced therefrom utwardly through pipe 511 and up through pipe 52 past the open valve 4:2 into the lower portion of the housing from whence it passes via pipe 47 and delivers through the open upper end thereof into a pocket 69 of the wheel motor C, illing such pocket and overflowing into the next adjacent lower pocket, the side rings 65 projecting su'liciently above the pockets to guide the overiow of Water from the higher' to the lower pocket or pockets. The check valves 33 and 48 respectively, prevent the return of the water into the tank A and housing.

When a number of the pockets on one side of the wheel having been thus illed with water, the increased weight causes the wheel and its shaft 27 to rotate which again turnsl the disk 19 so that further carbid is deliv ered into the Water of tank A, resulting in the generation of more gas and the operation outlined above is repeated.

A pressure gage 85 is used for registering' the pressure at all times within the housing. to which it is attached: while the stem and spring 46 comprise means which may be regulated to determine the degree of pressure allowed to pass through the housing' for the purpose of actuating the Wheel motor. Should the pressure within the housing register a greater degree than is desired, it will be understood that the stem 45 is turned in the proper direction to reduce the tension of the springI 46 so that the excess pressure will act on the diaphragm to close the valve 42 and thus shut off the pressure. As soon as the pressure against the diaphragm falls below the predetermined de ree. the valve 42 opens and permits the in' ow of further pressure.

A cylinder 86, having an exhaust 87 to atmosphere, is threaded into the closure member 14 of the tank A with which it communicates at its lower end and is provided with an offset upwardly extending arm 88 to the free end of which is pivotally attached an end of a substantially horizontal rod 89 carrying a weight 90 adjustable therealong. At its free end, the rod 89 is pivotally connected to an end of a depending rod 91 passing through a guide bracket 92 fastened upon the Wall of tank A. A dog 93 is pivoted between ears 94 on the wall of the tank and is normally supported in unengaging position by contact with the rod 91 as shown. Iteciprocably mounted within the cylinder 86 is a piston 95 having a stem 96 extending upwardly through the top of the cylinder and connected with the horizontal rod 89. Should for any reason the pressure within the tank A become excessive, carbid is fed too rapidly as by hand operated feed, such excess pressure will cause the piston 95 to rise within its cylinder which will Withdraw the rod 91 from ene gagement with the dog 98 and permit it to enter onc of the notches 97 formed in the periphery of the hand heel 30, thus stopping' further rotation of shaft 27 and disk 19 and delivery of carbid into the water. The exhaust 87 permits the escape of excess pressure to atmosphere when the piston 95 has4 been raised a sufficient extent in the cylinder. The block or weight 90 may be adjusted longitudinally of the rod 89 to determine the movement of operation of the auxiliary safety mechanism just described.

In order to facilitate access to the workA ing parts within the tank, the lat-ter is provided at any desired point` in its wall with a removable closure member 103 adapted to be held in place fluid tight by means of bolts 104 or other securing means.

At its lower end, the tank A is provided with a trough shaped insert 98 across the lower portion of which extends a spiral agitator 99 journaled at one end in a stuffing box 100 and extended therebeyond to receive a crank handle 101. At. its other end, the spiral is reduced in diameter and passes through the wall of the tank. a valved nipple 102 being secured to the tank at this point and forming a bearing for the spiral. Then desired, the spiral may be turned so as lto agitate the carbid residue within the bottom of the tank and due to the particular' construction of the agitating means employed, I avoid the diiiculty heretofore encountered in slushing the generator.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:-

1. A. gas generator comprising a main tank having a body of water therein, a carbid chamber disposed Wholly within said tank, an auxiliary tank associated with said main tank, means for feeding'andstoring Water under' pressure from said main tank in said auxiliary tank, and rotatable means actuated by the release of said Water under pressure tor assisting in the delivery' of carbid from said carbid chamber into said-body ot Water.

A gas generator comprising a main. tank having a bodyY of Water therein, a carbid chamber Within said tank, a rotatable member for receiving carbid from said chamber and adapted when rotated to deliver a portion of its` load into said Water,`a rnotor operatively connected with said member to rotate the `saine, an auxiliary tank, means 'for storing `water under pressure fronisaid main tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for-delivering the 'water under pressure from said auxiliar)r tank to artuate Said motor and rotate said member.

3. A gas generator comprising a main tank having a body of Water therein, a Carbid chamber within said tank, a rotatable member yfor receiving carbid from said chamber and adapted Willen rotated to deliver a port-ion 'of its load into said Water, a motor operatively connected with said member to rotate the same, an auxiliary tank, means for storing water under pressure from said main tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for intermittently delivering the VWater under pressure' from said auxiliary tank to ac tuate said motor and rotate said member.

4. A .gas generator 'comprising a main tank having; a body ot' water therein, a carbid chan'iber Within said'tank, a rotatable disk for receiving carbid from said chamber, means for removing carbid from said disk during rotation, and delivering it into said body of Water, a motor operatively connected with said disk to rotate the same, an auxiliary tank, means for storing Water under pressure from said main tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for deliverin the water under pressure from said auxi iary tank to aetuate said vmotor and rotate said member.

5. A |gas generator comprising a main aes-1,1957

tank having a body of water therein, a earbid chamber Within said'tank, a rotatable disk for receiving carbid from said chamber, means extending at an inclination from said disk for scraping carbid therefrom during rotation and delivering it into said body of Water, a motor operatively connected with saiddisk to rotate the Isame; an auxiliary tank, means for storing Water under pressure from saidlnain tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for delivering the Water under pressure from said auxiliary tank to actuate said motor and rotate saidmeinber.

6. A gas generator comprising a main tankhaving a body of water therein, a carbid chamber Within said tank, a rotatable disk for receiving' carbid from said chamber, means extending at an inclination from and angularly across: `said disk Jfor scraping carbid therefrom during rotation and delivering it into said body of water, a motor op eratively connected with said disk to rotate the same, an auxiliary tank, means for storing Water under pressure from said main tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for deliveringr the water mider pressure from said auxiliary tank to 'actuate said motor and rotate said member.

7. A -gas generator comprising a main tank having a body of water therein, a carbid chal'nber within said tank, a rotatable disk for receiving carbid from said chamber, a blade extending at an inclination from 4and angularly across said disk for scraping carbid thcretrom during rotationand delivering it into said body of Water, means for adjusting the angularity of said blade, a motor operatively connected with saiddisk to rotate the same, an auxiliary tank, means for storing Water under pressure from said main tank in said auxiliary tank, and means for delivering the Water under pressure from said auxiliary tank to actuate said motor and rotate said member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

DAVID F.` GEIGER.

Copies or thisipatent may be obtained for five cents each, by'vaddressing the Commissioner offratents, Washington, D. 0." 

